Cambodia remains affected by extreme poverty to this day, which sadly prevents thousands of young Cambodians from enrolling in higher education programs. With no social welfare or state scholarships to turn to, adolescents are typically forced to join the workforce at a young age in order to provide for themselves and their families.
Srey Mom found herself in this exact situation. Despite always having been an excellent student in school with great ambitions for her future, the orphan had no familial structure to support her with university enrollment. Srey Mom also assumed sole responsibility for the caretaking of her younger sister and her great-aunt, who are two of the only remaining relatives that she has. After having completed a 2-year business school degree in 2020, Srey Mom took on a job at a garment factory in rural Cambodia in order to provide for her aunt, even though this low-pay job didn’t meet any of her interests and didn’t have any promising professional development opportunities.
Through listening closely to Srey Mom’s story and individual needs, CYS was able to lay out a plan to elevate her life throughout the next few years. We encouraged the 23-year-old to follow her dreams and supported her with her university enrollment to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Management.
Please read her story in her own words below:
Hello dear,
My name is Srey Mom. I am 23 years old and I live in Cambodia. Last year I finished my study at the Don Bosco Business school in Kep. After I graduated from this school, I wanted to continue to study at university. I would like to get a Bachelor’s degree because I want to be successful in the future and I want to follow my dreams. But I could not follow my dream because I don’t have a family to support me. I only have my little sister and my great-aunt. My great-aunt is very old and cannot work anymore. So I had to accept a job in a factory to earn money to support my aunt.
Now I asked Thomlang – Cambodian Youth support to help me enroll in university. Thanks to this NGO, I can now follow my dream.
I study Management at the Cambodian University for Specialties in Phnom Penh. I am so happy about this. My favorite subjects are English, Management, and computer. In the future, I would like to be a manager of a big company.
Thank you so much for supporting me! It means a lot to me and it will change my future forever.
All the best,
Srey Mom
Srey Mom is ecstatic that she is finally able to study at university and to pursue a career that she feels passionate about, in contrast to the hard work that she has done in the past year at the garment factory.
In addition to covering her tuition fee and providing her school supplies, CYS is also closely assisting Srey Mom in applying for internships and jobs in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. This will help her gain experience in career fields that she is interested in and will ultimately better her career prospects.